sababa 5 & shiran tzfira: rali

Sababa 5 sharpens their euphoric Middle Eastern psych sound into an infectious four-track EP, featuring vocal revelation Shiran Tzfira, recorded here for the very first time. Together they reinterpret the traditional Yemenite songs of Shiran's childhood into modern and irresistible blends of disco, funk, boogie, pop, and rock. Sababa 5 and Shiran bonded over a shared love of Yemeni folk songs and set out to rearrange them in Sababa's style, led by Shiran's striking vocals. An effect comparable to Altin Gün's modern take on Turkish songs. "Ya Hizali", sets the tone for the EP. Shiran's sublime vocals in Arabic Yemenite are supported by an exuberant yet subversive disco framework. The pace slows on "Ya Hiah", but the intensity doesn't falter. Far from it, the song's strong pop-like progression is balanced by an irresistible synth laced twostep boogie groove. Moving into the second half of the EP, sung in Hebrew Yemenite, "Sei Yona" pushes the rhythmic pulse into funk territory, with an afrobeat inspired bassline, whilst retaining that laidback, sultry feel encouraging dancers to lose themselves in the groove. "Sapari Tama" exhibits a step up in intensity, the closest song on the EP to an invitation to not simply dance but jump to the beat, laid of pulsing synth bass. Hints of Stereolab sojourned in the Middle East. On this, their first EP after a string of popular, sell-out 45s, and in collaboration with Shiran Tzfira, remarkably on her recording debut, Sababa 5 is destined to widen their growing fanbase even further with this incredible collection of songs. For fans of: Altın Gün, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, YĪN YĪN.